If you read Chris McDougal’s best-selling book “Born to Run,” it would be difficult not to conclude that running is the most natural activity in which we can participate. The book suggests that we are born with all the right equipment, and should be able to run from early childhood through old age.

As a longtime runner, I’ve seen this simple sport undergo incredible growth, and with that growth has come numerous innovations and research purporting to help us become stronger, faster, less prone to injury and happier. Some of these breakthroughs I would rate as fantastic, others, well, not so much.

1 Casio F100

OK: I know I’m really dating myself, but the very first runner’s watch was the Casio F100. It was a major breakthrough that featured a digital display and timer. That’s it. No splits. No global positioning system. But I loved it.

Prior to that innovation, I ran with my analog watch — that would be the one with hands for you younger folks who have never seen one of these relics.

When I ran my first Boston Marathon, I placed slivers of masking tape on the face of the watch indicating where the minute hand should be at each five-mile interval. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember which sliver meant what after the first five miles.

2 Garmin GPS watch

If the Casio F100 was the barebones runner’s watch, the new GPS-based watches are the information overloaded opposite.

Wearing one of these bad boys gives you a dashboard on your wrist. It will tell you critical information like current pace per mile, average pace, distance covered, altitude, temperature, where to turn next, how many calories you’ve burned, fastest mile, slowest mile and how you compare to others.

When you return from your run, you can then download all that data into your computer to create fascinating charts and graphs that you can share with your friends and analyze until it’s time to go for your next run. I miss my F100.

3 Bee Pollen Supplement

I’m not kidding, this was all the rage in the late ‘70s. According to the hype, this was the secret ingredient to astounding performance enhancement, and it was not a banned substance.

As it turns out, there was a reason it wasn’t banned. According to WebMD, there is evidence that bee pollen is not helpful in boosting athletic performance or stamina. The many other uses of bee pollen, according to the website, include increasing strength to slowing down the aging process, but they are largely unstudied. It was all buzz, no help.

Page 2 of 3 - 4 Pro Stretch

One of the first self-help stretching devices, this rocker-shaped contraption helps to stretch tight Achilles tendons. It’s a low cost and effective method of stretching those problem tendons. It’s been around for a long time, and is still a must for any runner. The caveat, however, is that, just like your old Nordic Track, it’s only effective if you use it.

5 The Stick and Foam Roller

One of the local old-time runners who helped educate me when I first started running suggested that I borrow my wife’s rolling pin to roll out those sore hammys. The theory was that sore hamstrings could be effectively self-massaged with a rolling pin. He was right, and the rolling pin became an essential training aid.

Then came the Stick, a new, well-engineered, runner-specific rolling pin. My wife got her rolling pin back, and I got an even better solution.

Next came the foam roller that could do an even better job of rolling the large leg muscles by simply lying on top of it and rolling. It’s a must for those who can’t get to their massage therapist every week.

6 Hydration Pack

Long summer runs used to be planned around the location of known garden hoses and water fountains along the course. For really long runs, hiding drinks was the best solution.

Today, however, running on a hot day is much safer with hydration packs made by such companies as Camelback. It’s given one for the road a whole new meaning.

7 Coffee

In the early ‘70s, research suggested that having a couple of cups of coffee would improve your ability to run longer and stronger. Naturally, my coffee consumption went way up. Then in the ‘80s, new studies debunked that theory.

My love of coffee was unshaken, however. Was I rewarded for my stubbornness? According to the American College of Sports Medicine, recent laboratory studies indicate that three mugs of coffee ingested one hour before exercise will improve performance. I did a bit more practical research than the ACSM, and found, unfortunately, that road races are actually worse as a result of the necessary additional porta-potty stops along the course.

8 Gu Energy Gel

One of the biggest sellers at any pre-marathon expo are those wonderful packets of instant energy. The instant sugar spike is a turbocharge when excess energy wears down. They are easy to carry, and many marathoners will attach numerous packets to their shorts with a safety pin for quick access when hitting the last quarter of a marathon.

But some runners have taken the fuel-on-the-fly concept a bit too far. While this is a great tactic for long distance events, I am surprised how many are using them in 5k races. Is it a good thing to weigh more at the end of the race than at the beginning?

Page 3 of 3 - 9 Headphones

Want to get a bunch of runners going? Ask if wearing headsets while running is a good idea. Those who wear them, swear by them. They say it takes their mind off the the running, but for those who don’t wear them complain it takes their mind off the running.

Personally, I’d rather talk with my running mates, or be fully absorbed in my surroundings when I’m running alone.

10 R & D

The research and development folks at running shoe companies have one mission, and that’s to create new designs. New designs mean we need to buy the latest and greatest innovations, and that keeps those folks employed.

Heck, in the aforementioned “Born to Run,” author Chris McDougal makes a pretty good argument that we don’t need shoes at all. I’ve had the pleasure of talking with some of the great old legends of running like Johnny Kelley.

Johnny would tell you that his running shoes had virtually no padding and weighed next to nothing.

Newer running shoes have a lot more highly-engineered structure, roll bars, padding, moisture control and lacing systems. How did we get there?

Many have placed the blame of over-engineered running shoes on Nike founder Phil Knight. He theorized that if runners extended their stride by thrusting the lead foot forward and rolling though a heel strike they would cover more distance with each stride. That, of course, would require a whole new shoe design with significant heel padding. After all, nobody in his right mind would consider landing on his heel.

So, Nike sold a lot of newly designed running shoes and convinced runners that the way we’ve been running since man first ran — mid-foot strike — was incorrect.

The irony is that there is now a great deal of interest in minimalist running shoes, and Nike is one of the leaders in that development. Who knows, pretty soon we may all be running in shoes that look suspiciously like Johnny Kelley’s old shoes.

So there you have it, my top 10 twists and turns in the development of the sport of running. The good news is that all of this research continues, because so many have found out about the joy of running. Now, take off your headphones and come join me for a run.

Tom Licciardello is a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Striders. Licciardello has participated in 35 Boston’s and 88 marathons. He may be reached at tomlicc@verizon.net.